Looking Back At Bush's Op-Eds
"...each day we wait to begin the work of turning our economy around, more people lose their jobs, their savings and their homes," wrote the president. "And if nothing is done, this recession might linger for years. Our economy will lose 5 million more jobs. Unemployment will approach double digits. Our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse."
You can read the whole op-ed, in which the president calls on Americans to "act boldly to turn crisis into opportunity," here.
Hotsheet was curious just how novel it is for a president to take his case to the op-ed pages, so we turned to CBS News White House Correspondent and presidential guru Mark Knoller to find out how often Mr. Obama's predecessor did so.
It turns out President George W. Bush took to the op-ed pages at least four times, according to Knoller. The first was on August 12, 2001, when the president explained his decision on stem-cell research.
"The new technologies we create -- with their potential to cure disease and relieve suffering -- may well define our age," the then-president wrote. "But we will also be defined by the care and sense of self-restraint and responsibility with which we took up these new powers."
Mr. Bush's second published op-ed as president came on September 11, 2002, the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It appeared in multiple newspapers.
"In great tragedy, we have also seen great opportunities," he wrote. "We must have the wisdom and courage to seize these opportunities."
On November 2, 2004, Mr. Bush (along with Democratic rival Sen. John Kerry) wrote an op-ed for USA Today making his case for why he should be reelected.
"We are staying on the offense against the enemy," wrote Mr. Bush. "Our armed forces acted swiftly and courageously, deposing the Taliban in Afghanistan. We liberated millions of oppressed men, women and children. In October, the Afghan people -- including more than 3 million women -- voted in free and democratic elections for the first time in their history. And to date, three-quarters of al-Qaeda's known leaders have been captured or killed."
President Bush's final op-ed came on January 20th, 2005, the day of his second inauguration. It also appeared in USA Today and promises "a bright day coming for America."
"Freedom is on the march, and it is changing the world," Mr. Bush wrote.